A-List: Best TV Shows of the 2000s
By Josh Spiegel
December 3, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com

Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.
Over the past decade, being part of a TV show hasn't been a black mark on most actors' records. Ever since shows like NBC's "The West Wing" were filmed and shown in widescreen format, featuring movie stars, and dealing with complex issues sometimes rarely seen in arthouse movies, it became clear that television isn't the boondocks for failing careers. Certainly, there have been some actors whose careers were revived by the boob tube (David Caruso and his sunglasses say hello), but there have been some major strides in the televisual format in the last decade. Luckily, there are plenty of choices for the ten best television shows of the 2000s.

As mentioned in the past two weeks, when I covered my choices of the best movies of the past decade, this list is of my creation, no one else's. Some of the selections on my list may disappoint not only you, dear reader, but some of my fellow writers here at Box Office Prophets. The site itself will have a Best Of list next year around this time, so don't use up all of your rotten vegetables on me right now; share the wealth, please. Before I get to the first part of this list, running down the bottom half of my top ten TV shows, I wanted to mention a few shows that will go on my honorable mention, and two particular shows that won't appear at all. First, the latter: two very highly-regarded HBO programs are not on my list for the unfortunate reason that I've not seen them in their entirety: "The Wire" and "The Sopranos".

I've seen the first two seasons of "The Wire" and I would certainly place it high on my list assuming that the final three seasons are as awesome; however, I don't feel it's fair to put a show on my list that has aired all of its episodes, even though I haven't seen all of them. The same goes for "The Sopranos", of which I've only seen the pilot. One day, I'm sure to amend my list, but for now, these shows don't make the cut. Some shows on my honorable mention include "Firefly", "Undeclared", "24", "Scrubs", "South Park", "The Soup", "Extras", "The Venture Bros.", "Futurama", and "Andy Richter Controls the Universe". Now that you're all riled up that I'm not putting, say, "Futurama" in the top 10, let's get to the list.

10. Friday Night Lights

There's a mixture of awe and befuddlement that I have regarding the surprising success of "Friday Night Lights", the NBC drama that began airing in 2006, and is currently in its fourth season (if you get DirecTV; if you don't, like me, you have to wait for Season 4 until next summer, when NBC airs it). The show has already been renewed for its fifth and most likely final season. Though only one of those five seasons has the common-for-network-television 22 episodes, the fact that this low-rated drama that is ostensibly about the trials and tribulations of a high school football team in Texas has made it to a fifth season is damned impressive. One of the reasons so few people watch the show is because they assume it's all about football, which is a major myth. "Friday Night Lights" is about many things, football being only one of them. The show, developed by Peter Berg from his 2004 adaptation of Buzz Bissinger's book, is mostly about family, biological or otherwise.

In one of the truly underrated performances on TV right now, Kyle Chandler stars as Coach Eric Taylor, the head coach of the Dillon Panthers, one of the very best high school football teams in Texas. Taylor is dedicated to the game, but not in the same way that most of the residents of Dillon are, to the point that they often interfere in his job to make their points. Connie Britton plays his wife, Tami, a smart, feisty, sexy, and caring woman who wants to be the best possible mother to her daughter, Julie. In some ways, describing the show does it a disservice. What I can tell you is that the show manages to be more rousing than most sports movies, even when there's no football action. The show's writers have developed all of the characters, from Eric and Tami to the star quarterback and his girlfriend, so well and strongly that all of their pains become ours, and their triumphs are shared. Although it's too late to save it from going to a season 6, "Friday Night Lights" is a great show, and one of many that you probably aren't watching.

9. Veronica Mars

Before she was someone that Jason Segel wanted to forget in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," Kristen Bell became a mini-star on the three-season detective drama "Veronica Mars". Here's another difficult program to describe: if Nancy Drew had to solve her own rape and the murder of her best friend, and she lived in Orange County, California, she'd be Veronica Mars. That plot made up the major story of the first season of this awesome show, which started on UPN and survived for a third season on the newly formed CW. Veronica is supported by her shrewd ex-sheriff father, Keith; her sidekick, Wallace; her ex-boyfriend, Duncan, whose sister was Veronica's dead best friend; and Duncan's crazy friend Logan, who gets closer to Veronica as the series continues.

Created by Rob Thomas (the creator of "Cupid", not the singer), "Veronica Mars" was a show that was always destined to fail, if only because it was on the worst possible network. In its first season, UPN had the great idea of attracting new viewers by featuring a cameo by Paris Hilton in one episode. There were also countless contestants from "America's Next Top Model" showing up, which only caused distractions, not ratings boosts. Still, the show soldiered on, following up on its impressive and heavily layered first season with an equally exciting second season, in which Veronica investigated a deadly bus crash and dealt with a seriously creepy Steve Guttenberg. No joke. "Veronica Mars" was well-loved by geeks aplenty, as such famed geeks as Joss Whedon and Kevin Smith made cameos; still, despite ratings similar to "Gossip Girl", "Veronica Mars" got axed, even on a cliffhanger ending.

8. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Hopefully, I won't end up offending anyone's personal politics with this choice. At the very least, it's hard for me to put this on the list, because of how frequently hilarious this fake news program can be. Of course, for a certain subset of the population, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" is about as real a news program as possible, despite all of the raunch and nutty humor. Stewart's deadpan delivery always impresses, even if all the jokes don't always work. However, it's worth considering that, when you're working on comedy four days a week, as opposed to 22 half-hours a year, there's always a possibility that every joke won't be the best ever. In the last decade, Stewart has also been aided by a constantly changing group of correspondents, including Steve Carell, Ed Helms, Stephen Colbert, Rob Corddry, John Oliver, John Hodgman, and Larry Wilmore.

Stewart has also made news outside of his program; in late 2004, he had an infamous guest appearance on CNN's "Crossfire", where he took that show's hosts, Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson, to task for the shouting matches that they pretended were worthy of real news. Though it wasn't the only factor, Stewart's appearance was credited by a CNN exec as one of the reasons that "Crossfire" was soon canceled. This past spring, Stewart went on the attack against CNBC and Jim Cramer, for their coddling of Wall Street execs before, during, and after the current recession. Sometimes, Stewart's in the news for his comedy; during the WGA strike of early 2008, Stewart, Colbert, and Conan O'Brien completed a three-part, three-show joke that culminated in the three of them fighting in O'Brien's studio about who "made" Mike Huckabee popular. "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" may not jibe with your political viewpoints, but Stewart and company are among the sharpest and wittiest satirists of the era.

7. Mad Men

How well can an era that's passed us by be related to modern times? Somehow, it's done on a weekly basis on the AMC drama "Mad Men", which takes place during the 1960s in New York City on Madison Avenue, among the advertising giants of the age. Set mostly at a fake advertising agency known as Sterling Cooper, "Mad Men" is an ensemble program about how the various employees of Sterling Cooper, their spouses, families, and friends become accustomed to the changes coming down the pike during the turbulent 1960s, from the Cuban Missile Crisis to Vietnam and John F. Kennedy being elected president and eventually being assassinated. The dominant character is Don Draper (portrayed masterfully and honestly by Jon Hamm), a slick ad man with a secret past, a wife and kids, and a mistress or two on the side. Over the series' three seasons (the third just ended, and the fourth has been green-lit for production), Don and his co-workers try to bag some major clients while dealing with personal issues.

The third season had some detractors, but there were, as usual, some memorable moments; perhaps the most memorable came in "Guy Walks Into An Advertising Agency", in which the new British owners of Sterling Cooper introduce their new whiz-kid to the New York branch with shocking results. For those of you who've still not caught up on the show, it'd be cruel of me to ruin the episode's twist, or the sheer joy of the third-season finale, or even of Don's tortured past. "Mad Men", unlike some of the shows on this list, can be somewhat cold with its characters and stories; a few of the programs here are worth watching simply for the highs they reach. "Mad Men" isn't one of those shows, managing to be perfectly realistic at all times, which means it can be crushingly depressing. However, as downbeat as it could be, the show is a fascinating glimpse at a time gone by, the end of idealism in all its forms.

6. The Office (US and UK)

Unfortunately, this list isn't big enough to fit in two entries for "The Office", one for the original British version and one for the popular NBC remake; one entry for both will have to suffice. Considering how easily you can find the American version of the show online and on TV in syndication, I'm going to assume that most of you, if not all of you, are pretty familiar with this show's plot; if not, the quick refresher is that both shows take place in a paper company in a not-so-great town (in the British version, the city is Slough; in the American version, it's Scranton, Pennsylvania). Both shows have, as the star, a hopelessly idiotic manager who is the butt of many jokes and the source of much ridicule. The difference, and the reason why the NBC version has made it to a sixth season, is that the American boss, Michael Scott, is played so winningly and empathetically by Steve Carell, that it's OK that he can be a moron.

Another major reason for the American show's success is the romance between Jim and Pam, a paper salesman and the office receptionist. For the first three seasons, these two were unable to get together, but they've already gotten married and are expecting their first kid. Even so, the American "Office" has been just as funny as ever. The original program, created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, was more dour and painful. As David Brent, the Slough manager, Gervais was more greedy, selfish, and pathetic. Gervais is a strong enough actor that his tearful breakdowns evoked sympathy, but Brent always remained a loser of the highest esteem. That show only had 12 episodes and one special, but the most iconic moment has to be when Brent breaks into a solo dance sans music. Just go to YouTube and search for it; if you're not cringing and laughing by the end of the clip, I'm not sure there's anything we can do for you. "The Office" in British and American forms, is a modern classic.